


Letters across Time and Space

by stepOnMeZenos



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Epistolary, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Gen, ZenoHika Week 2020 (Final Fantasy XIV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepOnMeZenos/pseuds/stepOnMeZenos
Summary: Temporarily trapped in a body that isn't his own and apart from his only friend, Zenos turns to writing letters to express his feelings.ZenoHika Week day 6, prompt: Letters
Relationships: Zenos yae Galvus/Warrior of Light
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Letters across Time and Space

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6! This was actually the first fic I wrote for Zenohika week.
> 
> It was written pre-5.3, that's why it's so vague about Fandaniel.

My dearest Hunter,

How deeply I regret not being able to meet up with you at the Ghimlyt Dark. It must have been a marvel to behold you tearing through entire legions of an empire foolish enough to think it can take you on. Alas, it could not be helped. The body I currently inhabit slowed me down, both because I am not yet fully accustomed to using it and because I was waylaid by lowlives confusing me for a member of the Ala Mhigan resistance. Of course, they hardly presented a challenge, but their interference caused me to fall behind. 'Twas most vexing. Had I anticipated that they would be to blame for me missing you, I would have inflicted more suffering on them. 

But it cannot be helped. Though my heart aches to cross blades with you once more, I know now is not the time. I must let you go, to conquer new hunting grounds, while I retrieve my own flesh and blood. As I am, it would not be a battle worth fighting anyroad. Nay, I will bide my time. I know full well that the reward will be all the sweeter for it. When we next meet, we will both have grown stronger for our ordeals, and then we shall clash once more. I salivate at the thought of it. 

But enough of the past. I have business to attend to, and I shan't bore you with the mundane tales of my travels and travails. I do not expect this letter to reach you where you now reside, my friend, nor do I expect for you to find a way to send any back. Thus, I must engage my imagination to envision the adventures you are surely undergoing even now. Would that I could have come with you—but instead, I will focus all my efforts on setting the stage for your return. 

Until that day,

Zenos

Zenos, using the fingers of the Garlean general whose body he had requisitioned, neatly folded the envelope around the letter once the ink had dried and then carefully placed it in the folder he had nabbed from the command tent. With no way to send letters beyond the boundaries of the star, he would simply have to carry it around, but it wouldn't do for it to get crumpled. By the time his darling beast returned, handing them over would likely be pointless, but he found a certain joy in writing them anyroad. He'd even gone out of his way to acquire a quill and ink, to write the way the beast would write, rather than the vastly more practical pens the empire used. Another way to connect with his friend. There were few enough as it was. 

Then he rose, leaving the officer's personal tent, ignoring the bewildered questions of those who had served the fool when he had still been in control of his body. 

There was a small personal airship parked next to the warcamp that would prove most useful in reaching the empire's heartlands. 

My dearest Hunter,

It has been a few days since last I wrote to you. They have not been particularly eventful, I must say. Certainly, I have run into a few minor annoyances, such as airspace control deeming me to be illegally trespassing on empire territory and attempting to shoot me down after I failed to give suitable verification of my identity, but I won't bore you with detailed recounts of such trifles. Suffice it to say that all issues have been dealt with and I am once more en route to Garlemald proper. I should be arriving on the morrow. Regrettably, I have been slightly delayed by my airship running out of fuel just before arriving, forcing me to go the rest of the way by foot. However, that will make it easier to slip in without pesky hassles, so perhaps it is a blessing in disguise? 

I've decided to take the chance to write another letter now, as doing so will be significantly more difficult on the road, as opposed to sitting in my now fuel-less airship. 'Tis snowing outside, and not likely to stop before reaching Garlemald. It would ruin the ink as I write. 

I miss you; words I had not thought I would ever utter about another person. How you have impacted me! I still marvel about it. As I undertook the endless dull flight to where I am now, I could not stop thinking of you, and of what we have shared. Are you filled with thoughts of me as well, beast? As you slay your enemies in this other realm you are visiting, do you recall crossing blades with me? I can see it so well before my inner eye: the way the sunlight gleamed on the edge of your sword as you swung it at me, the feral glint in your eye that so perfectly mirrored my own, the warmth of your blood as it splattered onto my face after cutting you—how I crave it all. 

But I must bide my time. I know you have your own enemies to slay now until you can make your return. I will wait. I can be patient, if I wish to be. You will recount the tales of the foes you have felled when we meet again, ere we engage in battle once more. What mighty beasts prowl this other world? What fierce battles did they provide you with? I would hear all of it. 

I myself am bereft of worthy challenges here, as you likely surmised already. There is simply none who can set my blood ablaze the way you do. 'Tis all so dreadfully boring. I already feel my mind dulling, the way it so often did prior to meeting you. The world looks oh so grey without you. Meaningless. Pointless. 

But now I have hope, thanks to you. These endless days of drudgery are not all that awaits me. There is one worthy of challenging me; you, even if you cannot be here right now. That hope will tide me over until you are by my side again, my first and only friend. 

You are in my thoughts always.

Zenos

The letter joined the first in the folder, then Zenos climbed out of the nonfunctional airship. The rough landing had broken the automatic door so it wouldn't open, but that was fine. It had also shattered the cockpit's glass, which made it easy to simply climb out that way. From there on, he steered his stolen body in the direction he knew Garlemald to be in. It would be a steep walk, but certainly nothing he couldn't do—even if this body's knees would plague him the entire way.

Hunter Dearest,

I have breached the edges of the capital city. It is every bit the dreary place I remembered it as. Seeing it from the eyes of another man does little to help—but then, hopping between bodies like this does not seem to be affecting me much, aside from the persistent annoyance of these joints not doing what I want. What do you think happens to the souls of those whose bodies I took over? I haven't a clue, myself; I cannot find a trace of them anymore, leading me to think they must have passed on or dissolved, but 'tis hard to be sure. Not that they are of any consequence, of course. It is simply a question that occurred to me on my lonely march. 

I will soon depart for the imperial palace, where I am led to believe the thief who absconded with my body currently resides, but I could not miss this opportunity to write another letter. I am seated in a tavern, shielded from the snow and the cold with a warm meal sitting in front of me. As I had not had the chance to eat much on the way here, that is a welcome change. I won't be able to pay for it, of course. The general whose body I possessed did not carry any money, nor was there any on the airship I requisitioned. I suspect the owner of this tavern will cause me some hassle over it, but no matter. Should she choose to make too much trouble, I will simply cut her down. 

How do you fare in this other world? Are you eating properly? I am known to neglect feeding myself at times, but you should not follow in my footsteps. I know my limits, but I would not like you to find yours if it comes at the cost of your fighting capabilities. And though I care little for such matters, I know well how much you enjoy a good meal. Is the food on that world to your liking? 

Would that I could come see for myself. The more time I spend here, the less I wish to remain in this city. 'Tis a borish, dull place. Surely this other world would be marginally more interesting, even without taking into consideration that _you_ dwell there.;;; I crave your presence so much that it led me to dream of travelling to that otherworldly place while travelling here. Or perhaps it was no mere dream but another application of these strange newfound abilities of mine—but if that is the case, then you must not have been able to perceive me, for your dream-self soundly ignored my presence. Vexing. Even if only in a dream, I should have liked to speak with you again. 

Now then, I believe I should finish my own meal now. I have naught further to report to you, and I confess, I am quite eager to regain my own flesh and blood. I tire of this body. Its hand is already cramping up after such few lines. Pitiful, truly. But fret not for me, my beast. It shan't be long now. The next time I write to you, it will be in my own body. 

Until then,

Zenos 

As predicted, the tavern owner threw a fit over him attempting to leave without paying, but being held at swordpoint quickly changed her mind. Zenos considered slaying her on the spot for delaying him even a little, but no; that would only bring about more hassle later. This _was_ a Garlean woman, not an Aan. Low of standing though she might be, even the officer those around him believed him to be would be questioned about cutting her down without reason.

Wordlessly, he left the tavern and took the most direct path to the palace he knew of.

My dearest hunter,

As promised, I write to you as myself once more, in body and soul alike. I had not realised how much discomfort the unfamiliar flesh I was forced to wear caused me. 'Twas naught I could not handle, but nonetheless, I feel greater joy than I had expected over inhabiting my own body. So much so, in fact, that I find myself getting ahead of myself. Allow me to start at the beginning.

Upon arriving at the palace and cutting my way through a number of pesky interlopers, I discovered both Father and the body thief in the throne room. Luck was in my favour, clearly. Alas, I did not get to cross blades with my own body. I do not quite know why, but the body thief quickly fled before a serious battle could even begin, leaving me to reclaim my flesh without struggle. I confess to feeling a little disappointed over that, but it is futile to complain about it now.

After that matter had been dealt with, I turned to Father to bring up certain grievances. He had plans to unleash a poisonous gas upon Eorzea, putting even you in mortal peril. It matters not how strong a man is if the very air he breathes is enough to end his life. Of course, such a plan is wholly unacceptable. I will not stand for anyone to ruin my hunt, even if he is my father. 

When I looked upon him, brazenly staring at me while refusing to renounce his terrible plan, I felt naught but disgust. It was in that moment that I cut him down—on a whim, a spur of the moment decision, frankly. Nonetheless, it felt oddly satisfying, something I had not expected. I will ponder over this in the coming days and write about my conclusions in a follow-up letter, perhaps. However, I digress. 

As I spoke my last words to Father, I was interrupted by an unlikely duo: Gaius van Baelsar and the former Azure Dragoon of Ishgard. I believe you have made acquaintances with both. I deemed them to be an acceptable warm-up exercise to reacquaint myself with my own body, however I must admit that they were lackluster even as that. My newfound abilities augment my natural strength, and neither of them were even remotely capable of standing up to them. A pity. I had high hopes for this Azure Dragoon in particular to be at least slightly entertaining. As it was, I did not even bother to finish them off. What would have been the point? 'Tis a waste of time to dirty my blade on the weak, and besides, I had no desire to get caught up in Father's lackeys coming to check on his corpse. I have a more interesting quarry to pursue now. 

Ere I entered the throne room, I had heard the body thief speak of a divine entity known as Zodiark. I care little for their religious beliefs, much like I do not care for the Eorzeans' worship of Hydaelyn, however, their duality has interesting implication, do you not agree? Two deities far above their kin, and two hunters with the ability to subjugate them. Such is the stage I will prepare for you, my friend. We will gorge ourselves on their powers and armed thus clash once more—a clash that will shake this world to its very core. It will be a dance to resound through the ages, forever and ever, on whatever may remain of this star when we are done. 

My fingers tremble as I think of it. A battle to overshadow every other there ever was, solely between you and I, as none other could enter _this_ stage—none other could possibly interfere. It will be the peak of the bond we share. 'Tis hard to even sit still long enough to write this letter. 

Ah. I see I have once more gotten ahead of myself. So excited am I that it keeps disrupting my train of thought. Allow me to continue my retelling. 

After I had teleported out of the palace, I quickly witnessed the capital erupting in conflict as news of Father's death spread through the population. Seeing no reason to stay and get involved, I had planned on heading for the nearest airship hangar and find my method of transportation to leave, but on the way I ran into a curious figure who professed to have some knowledge of Zodiark's whereabouts. I have yet to ascertain who exactly he is, but he represents my best lead to set the stage for your return. Thus, I have elected to follow his lead until I have located Zodiark and absorbed his power into my own. 

I write this from the airship I have taken from the capital. The white-robed stranger is on board, but I tired of his company and decided to speak to you, even if you cannot hear me across the boundaries of the two worlds. Still, it calms me to write these words while simultaneously sparking even more excitement within. How strange. Even now, I don't fully understand these changes you have wrought in me. 

I will try to find some sleep now. Though I have my doubts it will come, even I have limits as to how little I can function on. Perhaps I will dream of you again tonight. I would like that. 

Until we meet again,

Zenos

Jostled by a the airship shaking ever so slightly, Zenos made a crease into the paper, right through the writing. He frowned. Unacceptable. A letter to his dearest friend couldn't be marred by something like this. Sleep would have to wait a little longer as he copied the writing onto a fresh sheet of paper. 

As the quill danced over the paper and the airship carried him to unknown ends, Zenos smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments appreciated.


End file.
